Twitter Acquires Tweetie

Berita Gadget - Twitter has announced that it's acquired Atebits, the company behind the popular Tweetie iPhone app and Mac desktop application. Tweetie’s creator, Loren Brichter, will be joining the Twitter team as well. The app will be renamed “Twitter for iPhone” and be made free in the next few weeks. Twitter CEO Evan Williams explained the move in a blog post:

Twitter also specifically mentions that an official Twitter iPad app is indeed coming: “Developers, services, and publishers will be able to leverage the Twitter iPhone and iPad applications to generate additional innovative tools and integrations for users,” Williams said in today’s announcement.

“We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve entered in to an agreement with Atebits (aka Loren Brichter) to acquire Tweetie, a leading iPhone Twitter client. Tweetie will be renamed Twitter for iPhone and made free (currently $2.99) in the iTunes AppStore in the coming weeks. Loren will become a key member of our mobile team that is already having large impact with tool makers and service providers around the world.”

The move comes less than a week after a controversial blog post from Twitter investor Fred Wilson, Principal of Union Square Ventures. In it, Wilson explained that they is looking for Twitter apps to not fill holes in the Twitter platform (e.g. photo sharing, mobile apps) and in lieu focus on innovative products and “killer apps.” The post caught the attention of developers, who feared that Twitter itself would start competing with their applications.